The two living families are the Peripatidae and the Peripatopsidae. They show a peculiar distribution, with the peripatids being predominantly equatorial and tropical, while the peripatopsids are all found in what used to be Gondwana.[1]

The segmented worm-like organisms have tiny eyes, antennae, multiple pairs of legs and slime glands. The group is thought to be related to arthropods. They prey on smaller animals such as insects, which they catch by squirting a sticky slime.

Peripatus is the textbook example of this phylum. It lives in the former Gondwana (southern) continents.